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Legendary Game Universes and Esports Superstars Take Center Stage at BlizzCon® 2018

November 4, 2018 GMT

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 4, 2018--At BlizzCon ® 2018, more than 40,000 gamers gathered to celebrate and be among the first to learn what’s coming next for their favorite Blizzard games, and to cheer on some of the top esports competitors in the world, with millions more tuning in online. For two days, the Anaheim Convention Center was packed with developer panels, friendly competition, and live entertainment as the Blizzard community learned about and went hands-on with new heroes, new content updates, and new games coming to the company’s stable of blockbuster franchises.

Some of the most talented cosplayers in Blizzard Entertainment’s global gaming community put their skills on display at BlizzCon. (Photo: Business Wire)

Attendees and viewers also witnessed the dramatic conclusions to numerous esports championships and exhibition-style competitions as they unfolded across multiple stages:

StarCraft
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II
World Championship Series Global Finals

Winner: Joona “Serral” Sotala

History was made at BlizzCon 2018 with the first non-Korean to win a StarCraft global final in the franchise’s 20-year history. After winning all four WCS Circuit events in 2018, Finnish Zerg Serral completed his incredible run by defeating the South Korean Protoss Kim “Stats” Dae Yeob 4-2 in their best-of-seven final series.

Heroes of the Storm
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Global Championship Finals

Winning team: Gen. G

After Gen.G’s harrowing 4-3 victory over Team Dignitas in the Grand Finals of the Mid-Season Brawl earlier this year, Dignitas were granted another shot at the Korean kings of Heroes of the Storm. But Gen.G brought a slew of pocket strategies and drafts that helped them out-maneuver Dignitas at each point of contention. With their 3-0 victory in the Grand Finals, Gen.G became the first team to win back-to-back BlizzCons and remain the reigning HGC World Champions.

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World of Warcraft
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Arena World Championship

Winning team: Method Orange

After fighting their way through a stacked 12-team double-elimination bracket, North American squad Method Orange won the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Grand Finals 4-0 over fellow North American competitors The Gosu Crew. The win is particularly sweet for Method Orange’s Charles “cdew” Dewland, a new father who first competed at BlizzCon in 2014.

World of Warcraft
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Mythic Dungeon Invitational All-Stars

Winning team: Free Marsy

The top four teams from the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon Invitational (MDI) Global Finals were invited to compete on stage at BlizzCon, but there was only room for one winner—Free Marsy from Australia. After underperforming at the Global Finals in June, the 2017 inaugural MDI Champions came roaring back in Anaheim, dying all of twice across four maps on their road to total dungeon domination.

Overwatch
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World Cup

Winning nation: South Korea

If there was any doubt about which country reigns supreme in Overwatch, South Korea put it to rest, again. The Koreans notched an Overwatch World Cup three-peat, dispatching China 4-0 in the gold-medal match. South Korea’s Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang was named T-Mobile ™ MVP after racking up more eliminations, and at a faster rate, than any other support player throughout the entire tournament. In the bronze-medal match it was Canada dispatching the United Kingdom.

Hearthstone
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Global Games

Winning team: China

Forty-eight four-person national teams embarked this summer on their 2018 Hearthstone Global Games (HGG) journey, battling for eight coveted playoff slots at BlizzCon. Team China, comprised of Gao “Leaoh” Yang, Zheng “OmegaZero” Lin, Zhang “YouLove” Lichen, and He “Trunks” Huan, triumphed with a clean 3-0 win over a surging Brazil in the Grand Finals. Said Trunks, “This is my first trophy at a global tournament ever, and this also proves how good Chinese Hearthstone is!”

StarCraft: Remastered
Show Match: KSL vs. ASL

Winner: Jung “Rain” Yoon

The champions of Korea StarCraft League (KSL) Season 1 and Afreeca Starleague (ASL) Season Five—Kim “Last” Sung Hyun and Jung “Rain” Yoon, respectively—were invited to compete in a best-of-five series at BlizzCon. The Protoss Rain, who last appeared on a BlizzCon stage in 2015, defeated the Terran Last 3-1 to secure his first BlizzCon trophy ever. Said Last, “ Brood War® is really popular in Korea, but it’s awesome to see that there are fans here, too!”

In addition to all of the epic esports action, Blizzard had several major game highlights during the show, including: